Bharwan Bhindi

Ladies' finger gets counted in the list of my favourite veggies. And I'm glad to discover that my kids love it too. Bharwan Bhindi has been in my to-do list for quite a long time. But most recipes I laid my eyes on in the www had coconut in the stuffing or just a mix of few spice powders. Neither of these struck a chord. I decided to stuff with paneer burji. I sauteed some chopped onions... and realized I had ran out of tomatoes. I dunked in tomato ketchup, mixed in crumbled paneer, some spice powder, salt, coriander leaves and combined. Abbas came into the kitchen and like a dutiful husband, asked "Do you need some help Seemu?" Chance pe dance I did. "Would you like to stuff bhindis?" After some thoughts, he obliged.

I heated some oil in a pan. Added a pinch of cumin seeds and asafoetida. I placed the stuffed bhindis neatly and sprinkled the leftover stuffing on top. When the bhindis were almost cooked, I realized that the salt was less. I plainly sprinkled some salt on top. After light stirring I felt that the salt was more now. Hmmm, I did not give up! I added some tamarind extract... WTH? You may exclaim. Out of the box thinking, I say. Anyway, again I felt the bhindis were getting soggy and suddenly craved for some crispy bhindis. Guess what I did. I sprinkled some Besan all over and gave a good stir.

Inspite of all these impromptu additions, the end product came out a winner. I wonder if I will be able to recreate the taste next time when I add in the known ingredients!

Get going with your instincts... With tender Bhindis in your kitty, you can never go wrong!